Vehicular toy capable of simulating a rearing horse



Feb. 11, 1969y V, MARASCO 3,427,037

VEHICULAR TOY CAPABJE OF SIMULTING A BEARING HORSE Filed NQV. 2, 1966 ,ff/remar. Vwcsw Aime/wc@ United States Patent O 3,427,037 VEHICULAR TOY CAPABLE OF SIIVIULATING A REARING HORSE Vincent Marasco, 1364 North Western Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90027 Filed Nov. 2, 1966, Ser. No. 591,517 U.S. Cl. 2801.189 Int. Cl. A63g 13/00, 1 9/ 00; B62h 1 00 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates generally to a childs toy, and more especially to a toy of the vehicular type which can be ridden by a child.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide an attractive toy of novel design which a child can ride in a variety of ways, thus increasing the appeal of a particular toy to children and also enlarging the age group to which the toy appeals.

The present invention produces an action type toy that appeals to children because of the movement of the toy and because of the different attitudes in which it can be ridden. In its preferred embodiment, the appeal to children is increased by providing a body on the toy having the representation of the body of an animal, for example the body of a horse, which serves to stimulate the childs imagination.

A toy embodying the present invention has a frame provided with seat means for supporting the child and also with a rst pair of ground-engaging wheels, arranged in tandem in the manner of a bicycle. Suitable means are operatively connected to one of these wheels to permit the child riding the toy to propel it, such means typically being pedal-operated cranks connected through sprockets and chain to the rear wheel of the first pair. A pair of auxiliary wheels are also provided that preferably are disposed rearward of and one at each side of the rear groundengaging wheel, or can be moved to such a position. The auxiliary wheels are mounted on a frame which is pivotally connected to the main frame of the toy to allow the wheels to swing about a horizontal axis in order to be raised or lowered with respect to the ground. When lowered, the auxiliary wheels are held in contact with the ground and steady the toy, in the manner of trainer wheels on a bicycle. When raised, the auxiliary wheels may be kept clear of the ground permitting the toy to be ridden as a bicycle; or, by tilting the toy to raise the front end, the auxiliary wheels may be brought down into engagement with the ground to provide a three-point support for the vehicle. To facilitate handling the toy in this mode, the auxiliary wheels are preferably casters.

The nature of the present invention Will be better understood by reference to the following description and to the annexed drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side and front perspective of the complete toy embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the frame and wheels alone, the body in a represenation of an animal being removed for purposes of better illustration;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective of the latch mechanism restraining movement of the auxiliary wheels;

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FIGURE 4 is a side elevation, similar to FIGURE 2, at reduced scale, showing the auxiliary Wheels in the raised position;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 showing the front end of the frame tilted upwardly to bring the front wheel off the ground and the auxiliary Wheels into engagement with the ground; and,

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 showing an alternative arrangement of the feet of the horse.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly FIGURES 1 and 2, it will be seen that the vehicular toy illustrated therein comprises a frame indicated generally at 10. 'Ihis frame includes a horizontally extending open box member 12 which passes around rear ground-engaging wheel 14 and supports the bearings for the axle by which wheel 14 is rotatably mounted upon frame 10. Extending horizontally forward from box element 12 is a tubular frame element 15 which connects collar 16 to the box element. Collar 16 serves as a journal in which is rotatably mounted upright post 17. At the lower end of post 17 is a yoke 18 upon which the front ground-engaging wheel 19 is rotatably mounted. rIhus, it will be seen that the two wheels 19 and 14 are arranged in tandem, that is with wheel 19 in front of wheel 14 in the familiar manner of a bicycle.

At the upper end of post 17, there is mounted handle bars 20 which are provided to turn post 17 in order to steer the vehicle by orienting front wheel 19. The handle bars 20 are preferably rotatably mounted in a bracket 21 having two horizontally spaced bearing portions 22. The reasons for this construction will become apparent later.

Seat means are provided on the toy for a child riding it. Such seat means, indicated at 24 as a saddle, are preferably carried by body 25, which, as shown in FIGURE 1, is preferably in the representation of some familiar animal, such as a horse. Although any other suitable type of body structure may be provided to support seat 24, the representation of :a four-legged animal allows the youthful rider to identify himself with men of action, such as cowboys.

In order to support body 25 on frame 10, the frame is provided with a pair of spaced posts 28, one on either side of rear wheel 14, which are each attached to and supported by one side of box frame member 12. Posts 28 are preferably braced rearwardly by a pair of spaced braces 29 which, with posts 28, provide at their top a platform 30 upon which body 25 rests. 'Ihe supporting structure for the body comprising braces 29 and posts 28 thus straddles rear ground-engaging wheel 14 and supports body 25 and the weight of a rider onseat 24.

At some location near its forward end, body 25 is supported by post 17. A connection between the body and the post may be effected by any suitable type of support bearing such as the one indicated dagrammatically in FIGURE 2 and which comprises a collar 32 attached to post 17 to turn therewith and a stationary collar 33 resting upon collar 32. Collar 33 is engaged by and supports directly body 25 but remains stationary with respect to the post as the post turns in order to steer the Vehicle.

Any suitable means are provided for propelling the toy. As an example of such means, there is provided a double crank 35 provided on its two ends with pedals 36 and rotatably mounted in suitable bearing means carried by body extension 36 which is connected at its rear end to collar 16. Crank 35 has attached to it a sprocket 38 over which passes chain 40. The chain 40 extends rearwardly and passes over a second sprocket 41 non-rotatably aixed to the axle of rear wheel 14. This construction is generally similar to the familiar bicycle and enables a child sitting on seat 24 to manipulate crank 35 by engaging the pedals 36, and upon rotating the crank, to move the vehicle forward.

The vehicle is provided with a pair of auxiliary wheels, preferably in the form of two casters 44, which are disposed one at each side lof the rear wheel 14. The casters are rotatably mounted at the outer, opposite ends of laterally extending arms on frame 45; and each caster swivels individually about a vertical axis. Frame 45 is pivotally mounted on box element 12 to swing as a unit about a horizontal axis established by two aligned pivot pins 46 in the opposite sides of lbox frame member 12. Pins 46 are preferably located rearwardly of the axle for rear wheel 14, vbut not necessarily so. The advantage gained is that shorter arms may be used. Alternatively, arms carrying the wheel may be pivoted on posts 28; but at any location, the design is such that the two wheels 44 and rear wheel can be arranged to make a three-point contact with the ground, the points being in a triangular coniiguration. The central portion of frame 45 is in the form of a U-shaped strap 45a which straddles a portion of wheel 14 and interconnects the two `arms carrying casters 44.

Means are provided to raise and lower the wheels 44 relative to the ground by causing casters 44 and frame 45 to swing as a unit about the horizontal axis at 46, there being provided means to lock the wheels in the down position shown in FIGURE 2 and means to limit their upward travel, as will be further explained.

`A stationary U-shaped strap 48 has its open ends attached to the two sides of box member 12, with an interconnecting portion 48a extending horizontally at a position rearwardly :of wheel 14. Cooperating with this strap is a spring-biased latch 50 which is non-rotatably attached to one of the pivot pins 46, as shown particularly in FIG- URE 3. The latch 50 has a movable plunger 51 which is spring-biased to an outwardly or raised position; but which can be lowered by a downward pull on pin 52 to move the plunger against spring 53. In the outward position, latch plunger 51 engages stop member 48a as shown in FIGURE 2, the parts being so arranged and constructed that, in this position, the caster wheels 44 engage the ground as shown. Engagement of latch 50 with stop element 48a prevents clockwise rotation of caster frame 45, thus keeping the wheels 44 in the lowered position in which they engage the ground.

Means to release latch 50 includes a iiexible cable 55 which passes through cable housing 56. The housing is securely anchored to vehicle frame in any suitable manner, anchor blocks for this purpose being indicated diagrammatically in FIGURE 2 at 57. These anchor blocks are attached to frame 10 by suitable members, not shown. The rear end of exible cable 55 s connected to plunger pin 52, as shown in FIGURE 3, while the forward end of the cable is attached to the central portion of handle bars at a position between the two bearing blocks 22. This central portion of the handle bars serves as a drum on which a portion of the cable connected thereto can be wound. By rotating the handle bars clockwise upwardly in bearings 22 from the solid line position of FIGURE 2 to the dotted line position 20a, a terminal portion of the cable is wrapped around the handle bars and the cable is placed in tension. The pull of the cable on pin 52 rst retracts plunger 51 against the pressure of spring 53, thereby disengaging the plunger from fixed stop member 48a and freeing frame 45 and the caster wheels for rotation ina clockwise direction around the horizontal axis at 46. As the cable is wrapped around handle bars 20, the continued pull on the cable after releasing latch plunger 51, is in a direction to pull the latch forwardly and thereby rotate the caster frame 45 about axis 46 to raise wheels 44 upwardly out of ground engagement, to the raised position shown in FIGURE 4.

The clockwise rotation of frame 45 and wheels 44 is limited by engagement of frame portion 45a with the lixed stop 48. This engagement may occur either with the side arms of the central portion 45a of the frame engaging the side arms of the U-shaped strap 48, or central bar 48a may be so shaped as to engage frame portion 45a.

While frame 45 and the auxiliary wheels carried by it are gravity biased to the downward position of FIGURE 2, it is preferred to provide additional pull on cable 55 to return it to the corresponding position. For this reason, spring 60 is provided. The spring is connected to cable 55 and to a fixed abutment on frame 10, such as box frame member 12, in order to draw cable 5S rearwardly through housing 57 When auxiliary wheels 44 are raised clear of the ground by rotating handle bars 20 to the dotted line position 20a of FIGURE 2, the toy appears as in FIGURE 4. It can then be ridden as an ordinary bicycle since only wheels 14 and 19 are in ground engagement and they are arranged one in front of the other. For the young or inexperienced child, additional stability can be gained by using wheels 44 as trainer wheels by lowering them into contact with the ground as in FIGURE 2. This is accomplished -by rotating handle bars 20 rearwardly or counterclockwise as viewed in the drawing, thereby relaxing the tension on cable 55 and allowing the wheels to drop under the influence of gravity and the pull of spring 60. In this position, the auxiliary wheels are held firmly by latch 50, plunger 51 now engaging the rear edge of stop means 48a. Casters 44, like outriggers, prevent the vehicle from tipping sidewise.

When the auxiliary wheels are raised to the position of FIGURE 4, the vehicle can be converted to a threewheeled toy -by tipping the frame rearwardly to lift front wheel 19 off the ground. The vehicle then rests u-pon the two casters 44 and large rear wheel 14, as shown in FIGURE 5, in the manner of a tricycle. Incentive to do this is provided by making body 25 in the representation of a horse since the youthful rider then considers himself as riding a bucking horse.

The illusion of motion on the part of the animal reprsnted by body 25 can be heightened by attaching the two fore legs 62 of the animal to the two cranks 35 adjacent pedals 36. The legs 62 may have articulated internal elements 62a covered by a flexible material. This construction, shown in FIGURE l causes the front legs of the animal each to rise and fall w-ith one of the cranks as cranks 35 are rotated.

In a somewhat similar manner, the rear legs 64 can each be connected to one of the arms of caster frame 45, as shown .in FIGURE 6. This arrangement causes the legs to move up and down with casters 44 and give the appearnce of a bucking horse when the front end of the toy is lifted up as in FIGURES 5 and 6.

It will be apparent without enumerating the many possible changes, that changes in the detailed structure and arrangement of the parts of the present invention may be eiected by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is considered as being illustrative of, rather than limitative upon, the invention.

I claim:

1. A toy vehicle comprising:

a frame with seat means thereon;

a lirst pair of ground-engaging wheels on the frame mounted one in front of the other;

means operatively conncted to one of the pair of wheels to propel the toy;

a pair of auxiliary wheels disposed one at each side of and rearwardly of the rear one of the iirst pair of wheels;

means pivotally mounting the auxiliary wheels on the frame to sw-ing about a horizontal axis to move both auxiliary wheels as a unit up and down with respect to said axis and, when up, also rearwardly of the point of ground contact of said rear wheel.

and stop means limiting upward swinging movement of the auxiliary wheels relative to the frame whereby the toy can be supported on the auxiliary wheels in such upward position and the rear one of the rst pair of wheels.

2. A toy vehicle according to claim 1 in which the auxiliary wheels each swivel independently about a vertical axis.

3. A toy according to claim 1 which also includes releasable latch means holding the auxiliary wheels in lowered position.

4. A toy according to claim 1 in which the front one of the first pair of wheels is dirigible and handle bars are provided to orient the front wheel;

and the toy also includes a exible cable connected to the mounting means for said auxiliary wheels and to a drum rotated by the handle bars to raise and lower the auxiliary wheels relative to the ground by movement of the handle bars.

5. A toy according to claim 3 in which the auxiliary wheels each swivel independently about a Vertical axis.

6. A toy vehicle comprising:

a frame with seat means thereon;

a rst pair of ground-engaging wheels on the frame mounted one in front of the other, the front one of said pair of wheels being dirigible;

handle bars operatively connected to said front wheel to orient same;

means operatively connected to one of the pair of Wheels to propel the toy;

a pair of auxiliary wheels disposed at each side of the rear one of the first pair of wheels; means pivotally mounting the auxiliary wheels on the frame to swing about a horizontal axis to move both auxiliary wheels as a unit up and down with respect to said axis and, when up, also rearwardly of the point of ground Contact of said rear wheel; and a exible cable connected to the mounting means for said auxiliary wheels and to a drum rotated by the handle bars to raise and lower the auxiliary wheels by movement of the handle bars. 7. A toy according to claim 6 which also includes releasable latch means actuated by the cable and holding the auxiliary wheels in lowered position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 664,353 12/1900 Rieger 280-303 1,519,208 12/ 1924 Lupton. 1,537,729 5/1925 .Banks 280-1.189 1,632,092 6/1927 Morrill et al. 2SC-1.195 X 2,474,114 6/1949 Ransom 28o-1.195 X 2,617,658 11/1952 James et al. 2SC-1.204 X 2,629,611 2/1953 Covington 280-295 X 2,646,990 7/ 1953 Fowler 280-293 X 2,898,121 8/1959 Kelly ZBO-1.204 X LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner.

U.S. C1. X.R. 

